You get what you pay for

"Thank you for calling Esurance. Can I get your account number, name, address, email address, and birth date?"

I'm surprised they don't ask for my first born too.

You wouldn't believe how many times I have had to sit through that spiel. Ever since I started my policy with them, it's been nothing but headaches.

However, I've been surprisingly patient with them. Many have commented on how forgiving I've been with this company. But yesterday, I reached my breaking point.

The long story

A week ago, three representatives assured me that a pro-rated amount for my new car would be automatically charged to my account. The payment was never taken. Instead, they sent me an e-mail cancellation notice due to no payment.

I called in as soon as I saw the notice and asked for a supervisor, thinking that they would be competent enough to complete the transaction:

"Hi, I need to make sure a payment goes through. You guys promised it would but it didn't."

Danica (the supervisor) "No problem ma'am. Give me a moment and we'll get it fixed." A moment passes. "Okay, I'm not sure what happened but I put the payment through."

"Yeah, it was for 94.01, right?"

D: "Yes ma'am."

Well that was easy. A few hours later I checked my bank account. Instead of the 94.01, they charged $427.00, my old premium.

I was on the phone immediately. I asked for Danica and was told she was unavailable so I was transferred to Elicia. She assured me that the matter would be investigated and she would get back to me within the hour. I received a call from her a little later saying that the matter was forwarded to another department.

Fair enough. I was extremely understanding with Elicia. Even she commented that "If this happened to me, I would never be so patient." I realize this, but I'm not one to terrorize customer reps. I was one for 8 years. I know what it's like to have a customer rip your ear off for something you didn't do.

The sh*t hits the fan

Two and a half hours go by...the money had not been returned, nor had I heard from Elicia. So I called into the customer service center. I reached Elicia after some time and the conversation went like so:

E: "Hey Ashley. How are you doing?"

"I could be better. Has the issue been resolved?"

E: "Well, we found out the payment was made on your end. That's why it took so long."

*Jaw drops*

"So you are telling me that I did something that I clearly did not do?"

E: "Well, not necessarily. It's just the payment was made on your end. We didn't make a mistake."

"Um, yes you did. I authorized a payment for 94.01...not 427.00."

E: "Ma'am, I'm not going to play the blame game. It came from your end."

"No, no; it did not. Check your phone records. I was pretty explicit about the whole thing."

E: "Well, I don't know what happened. It was on your end."

"Then there must be something wrong with the system. There must be a glitch or someone unauthorized has been in my account."

E: "Would you like me to reset your password?"

"No! I want you to figure out what happened!"

E: "Well I have record that the payment was on your end. Would you like me to send it to you?"

"No! Forget it! Please cancel my policy renewal."

E: "Yes ma'am. One moment please."

I was fuming. The last time I was so angry at a company was six months earlier when Esurance (who would have guessed) claimed that the quote I was given didn't exist (they were proven wrong later down the line).

Fueled by my fury, I reported them to the Better Business Bureau and started drafting a letter to their corporate headquarters.

They picked the wrong person to piss off.

Damage control

This morning, things didn't get any better. I called in to the customer service center because the payment still hadn't been returned. When I asked for a supervisor, I was informed that there were none available.

I advised the rep that she find one because it's hard to believe that they were on the phones without a supervisor. She kept giving me the same line about a callback, blah, blah, pushing me over the edge again.

"I think that's a load of bullsh*t!"

Not one of my finer moments. In another less than stellar move, I proceeded to leave a nearly tearful message on the Director of Customer Experience's voicemail at corporate.

After that debacle, I received a call from another supervisor in customer feedback later that morning. She told me the situation was under investigation.

"Have you already reported the matter?" She asked tentatively.

"Yes, I have. I think the whole situation was uncalled for."

"Okay, we'll get it resolved."

So that's where things stand. It's in process, but, as I write this, I'm still out the money. All I wanted to do was pay the damn premium. I'm not doing anything underhanded.

I just expect the services I pay for. Unfortunately, I've learned the hard way that you just cannot put a price tag on competency and customer service. Although Esurance had the lowest premium, I don't mind paying a little extra for some integrity and intelligence.

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